1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a steam generation apparatus, and more particularly to a steam generation apparatus for generating steam simultaneously with thermoelectric generation.
2. Description of Related Art
The configuration of an example of conventional steam generation apparatuses is disclosed, for example, in WO 2011/121852A. The disclosed steam generation apparatus is provided, inside its housing, with pipe members through which a high-temperature heating medium passes, and a thermoelectric element module is attached on the surface of the pipe member. The thermoelectric element module is covered with a heat transfer plate, and water is ejected onto the surface of the heat transfer plate from a spray nozzle.
With the steam generation apparatus including the above-described configuration, water supplied to the heat transfer plate is heated by the high-temperature heating medium to produce water vapor, and at the same time, electric power can be generated using the temperature difference occurring in the thermoelectric element.
However, the above-described conventional steam generation apparatus has a problem of complication to make an insulating structure for reliably generating electric power obtained by the power generation using the thermoelectric element since the thermoelectric element is exposed to water vapor generated in the housing. The steam generation apparatus has another problem of a large amount of heat radiation to the outside of the pipe member, which in turn causes an excessive heat loss. The heat loss problem is particularly noticeable when a liquid medium having a high temperature of 200° C. or higher is used as the heating medium passing through the pipe member since heat transfer tends to increase when temperature difference between the external and internal temperatures of the pipe member is increased. Therefore, the conventional steam generation apparatus is still in need of improvement in terms of increased energy efficiency.